Although a number of methods exist to gasify or liquefy coal, these methods are costly and in some cases create a secondary waste that can be more of a problem than the actual gas stream itself. Currently, coal gasification or liquefacation methods create greenhouse gases such as carbon monoxide carbon dioxide, as well as, other bi-products such as tar, ammonia, and tar-water emulsions. Further, these processes also produce slag, which currently must be land filled and there is currently no efficient method to recovery heavy metals, such as mercury, that typically are found in coal. While these processes work, they require significant energy input or create waste streams that must be disposed of at a cost to the operator and with potential future environmental impact. Thus, there is a need in the art for an improved method to economically gasify or liquefy coal while recovering the remaining carbon, sulfur and any heavy metals.